Investigations of the subterranean area – extremely damp and musty – reveals a lot of undead (swiftly vanquished), an imprisoned spirit naga (also dispatched and the head preserved) a roving demon that attacks by surprise and lightning bolts the party a few times for good measure (killed as well) a few umber hulks (also dispatched with extreme prejudice).

After a few days up the rope, the group decides to try and see if the black dragon they spotted earlier is still hanging about and in need of killing. They emerge and go to investigate the central ‘building’ when they are beset by a swarm of tormented creatures that squirm out from the ruins and attack in waves. The creatures soon die in waves.

Throwing caution to the wind, the group airlifts to the tower using the cleric’s rainbow eleva...

Upon entering the swamp, the oppressive swampiness starts to assert itself. Bugs, bug and more bugs bug the heck out of the party members, who slog from one semi-dry hummock to the next. The mists are thick and swirling and visibility is limited to a dozen feet or so. It is difficult to hear anything other than the drone of the blood-sucking flies and the splash of the character’s booted feet.
Suddenly a beholder looms out of the mist and demands tribute! The party is to place shiny object of value in this hollowed out dragon skull post-haste. While the res tof the group stammers and stutters to buy some time, the mage unleashes a spell of disintegration and vaporizes most of the beholder – which turns out to have been a hollowed out husk, kept aloft by unknown means. Curious...

Pressing onward, the group explores a small and intimate hidey-hole. Whomever lived here, it is clear that he/she/they/it loved books, as there is an altar to a deity of knowledge and learning. Later on, the group (after battling another stone golem) discovers a library – completely devoid of any books, though the warped and bent shelves tell a tale of many tomes once stacked thereupon. They also find a book detailing how one progresses to lichdom…an ominous sign. More ominous, they discover many half-empty jars of the components needed to help one along the path to unlife. Along the way they thrust the paladin into a corridor full of flesh eating grasshoppers and deadly rot grubs, and they pass by two trapped and locked doors.

After exploring every available option except two – they choos...

After spending a few weeks in Arabel, the group decides to try and obtain an adventuring charter. Inquiries direct the party to the Dancing Dragon, where they plan on interviewing prospective employers. On the way there, they witness a muggin and decide to give chase. The victim is rescued and the assailants are chased until they produce a cloud of smoke and evade capture.

The city watch is summoned and statements are given. As the watch details the contents of the occupants purce, the cleric asks for a copy of the contents and the guard is obliging enough, believing the letter to be a load of bollock juice. The group journeys on and eventually is hired by the trading coster with whom they did business earlier.

The letter and the enclosed map reference a name and a location not too far dis...

There is the usual round of frantic strategizing about possible plans and options. In the end it is decided that the Lad, Gal, Kormier and Goldpiece will just have to apply the beatdown to the iron maiden iron golem. Malchor and Ofelia will provide cheerleading services.

The battle is pitched and the damage dealt is staggering. Goldpiece nearly is slain when the golem crushes his shoulder, but the cleric is ready to restore him to health. The battle rages for several minutes before the Gal unleashes a series of savage blows that hack the ambulatory torture device into pieces and halts its rampage.

Trapped exits are bypassed with passwall spells and the group briefly surveys a series of holding cells before climbing stairs and entering a ‘conference room’ at the top of the tower...